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Eating Disorders/Transcript/Update
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby is bench-pressing weights in a garage. Tim approaches him. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I am not going to spot you. That's…every weight in the set! Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I'm worried my friend might have an eating disorder. Can you tell me more about them? Signed, Anonymous. Thanks for writing in. First off, if your friend might have an eating disorder, they may need to see a doctor. So, tell a trusted adult, like a parent, a school counselor, or a coach, right away. You might be afraid you're betraying your friend's trust. But without treatment, eating disorders can become life-threatening. Images show a mother and father, a student talking to a counselor, and a gym teacher. MOBY: Beep? TIM: An eating disorder is an unhealthy obsession with food, body image, or body weight. Images show a collection of food, a silhouette of a girl, and a scale. TIM: They usually first show up in people's teens or early 20s. But they can stay with a person for a long time. An animation shows a teenager standing in her bedroom. The animation changes to show an older version of the same girl standing in an office. She now has gray hair. TIM: Anyone of any age, race, or gender can have an eating disorder. And you can't always tell they're struggling just by how they look. An animation shows a series of men, women, boys, and girls, all ranging in race and age. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, symptoms vary a lot, but there are a few different kinds of eating disorders. One of the best-known is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia often shows up differently in boys than in girls. Girls tend to become obsessed with being thin. Boys may focus on looking lean and muscular, like celebrities and sports stars. An animation shows the silhouettes of a boy and a girl. The girl's silhouette gradually gets thinner as the boy's silhouette gets more muscular. TIM: Either way, they starve themselves, and often exercise way too much. An image shows a hand refusing a pile of food. A second image shows a girl running outside. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Yeah, of course it's a good idea to watch what you eat, and exercise. But people with anorexia take it to the extreme. Their body weight can drop way below what it should be. An animation shows silhouettes of a boy and girl, which get thinner as Tim describes. TIM: Even then, they're still convinced that they're fat, and need to lose weight. An animation shows a very thin young woman looking unhappily at herself in a full-length mirror. TIM: They connect their happiness and self-worth to their weight. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, they can't just decide to eat—it's more complicated than that. Eating disorders are complex mental health disorders. They may involve imbalances in brain chemicals that control hunger, appetite, and digestion. An animation shows a young girl sitting at a kitchen table. There is a plate of salad in front of her. An inset image shows the inner working of her brain, and the chemicals inside it. The girl pushes the plate away from her. TIM: In the grips of an eating disorder, people may not see that there's a problem. Or, they may know they're hurting themselves, but they're still not able to stop. Even when their physical symptoms are severe. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, when the body doesn't get enough fuel, it starts to shut down. People with anorexia have trouble reasoning, concentrating, and learning. An animation shows a brain with icons scattered inside it. The icons include an eye, ear, USB drive, gears, a speech bubble, and a hand. Each icon is replaced with a question mark. TIM: They may feel cold all the time. Sometimes, the hair on their head falls out, while fuzzy patches grow all over their body. Their immune system gets weaker. And their heartbeat slows down and can even stop. Images show a woman in a winter coat shivering, a hairbrush with hair in it, short hairs growing from skin, a boy with a thermometer in his mouth, and a beating heart. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, no. That's, that's different. That's another well-known eating disorder, bulimia nervosa. People with bulimia go on uncontrollable binges, eating way, way more than they need to. An image shows the silhouette of a person eating a large amount of different kinds of food. TIM: Then, to "offset" the amount they've eaten, they try to get rid of that food unnaturally. Like, by forcing themselves to throw up. That's called purging. Over time, their bodies start to break down. They become malnourished and dehydrated. Plus, the acid from their stomachs can damage their esophagus and teeth. But people with bulimia are usually a normal weight, or can even be overweight. An image shows a thin, ill-looking woman sitting at a table. Crossed-out images of food and a drop of water appear, as well as an image of a damaged tooth. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Actually, the most common eating disorder in the U.S. is binge-eating disorder, or BED. It's sort of like bulimia. People with BED will regularly eat huge amounts of food in one go, often very quickly and way past the point of comfort. An image shows a collection of pizza, fried foods, and soda. TIM: They can feel out of control, guilty, and disgusted at themselves. But people with BED don't usually purge. It can lead to obesity and complications like diabetes and heart disease. An animation shows silhouettes of an obese person, a blood sugar monitor, and a heart. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Yeah, you can't really tell if someone has an eating disorder based on symptoms. They vary too much from person to person. An animation shows icons of food, an overweight person, a scale, a heart, and thin woman. TIM: A better warning sign is how someone acts. They may work really hard to hide their behavior. Like by trying to avoid eating in the cafeteria at lunch or joining family dinners. An animation shows a young girl peering into a school cafeteria. She passes it without going in. Zooming into the cafeteria, the animation shows an empty seat at a table. A tray of food has been left behind. TIM: They may insist on working out no matter what—even if they're hurt, for example. Pretty soon, the illness is controlling their entire lives. An animation shows a girl jogging through a neighborhood, both in the summertime and in the snow. TIM: It gets in the way of relationships, work, hobbies—everything. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Well, doctors aren't exactly sure what causes eating disorders. But they agree it's a mix of biology and environment. Genetics play a role—that's one reason they can run in families. And why they often appear with other mental health disorders. Like depression or anxiety. An image appears of a family tree. Some of the members of the family are colored a different color to indicate that they have eating disorders. TIM: Of course, what's going on in your life also matters. Traumas like illness and bullying have been linked to eating disorders. In fact, both bullies and their victims are more likely to develop them. An animation shows a young girl. Behind her is an image of the girl looking feverish while in bed, and an image two boys laughing and pointing. TIM: Often, people who feel bad about other areas of their lives want to have control over something. The stuff we see in the media plays a role, too. It's like a parade of perfect-looking people. But those images are enhanced and retouched in all kids of ways. Real life doesn't have an editing tool, and most people can't get those results in healthy ways. An animation shows someone scrolling through a social media app on their phone. Posted photos show models on a runway. TIM: But one of the biggest triggers is simply going on a diet. If you want to lose weight by eating healthier, talk to your doctor about how to do it right. An image shows a collection of different foods on a table. They slowly disappear until only a few remain. Another image shows a girl speaking to a doctor in his office. TIM: The good news is, the majority of people with eating disorders get better with proper treatment. And their chances of a full recovery are really good if it's caught early. An animation shows a girl speaking with a counselor. MOBY: Beep! Moby positions himself on the bench-press and struggles to lift the weights. The bench collapses underneath him. TIM: Do you even lift, bro? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts